While the heat has gone out of the auction market, the rental sector is positively at boiling point with queues of up to 30 people now chasing the few apartments that are still available in Dublin city. This is particularly true for international companies moving staff to Dublin. This week alone an IFSC company looked for 15 apartments for foreign staff but no agency is able to cope with that sort of demand. According to letting agents, the situation has become extremely stressed as people realise they have virtually no hope of renting accommodation in the city centre. Meanwhile, employers are not happy about having to put employees up in expensive hotels until suitable accommodation is found.

Letting agents are now hoping to find homes for some of their clients in the remaining tranche of apartments being completed in the west end of Temple Bar. Tiny one-beds there are making between £800 and £850 per month, while two-beds are going for between £1,100 and £1,300. The situation reflects badly on the Government, which was quick to implement the recommendations of Peter Bacon, sacrificing investment in the rental sector for no obvious good reason. By cutting off investment in apartment market, they have caused major headaches for the thriving IT and financial services industries. The shortage will obviously get worse as existing tenants hold on to their leases for dear life, and investors go elsewhere with their money.